title: Clinical effect of Astragalus granule of different dosages on quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the dose-effect relationship of Astragalus granule (AG) on improving the quality of life (QOL) of the patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety CHF patients of Fei ()-qi-deficiency and/or Xin ()-Shen () yang-deficiency syndromes were equally randomized divided with a random number table into three groups; they received the high (7.5 g), moderate (4.5 g), and low dosage (2.25 g) of AG orally taken twice a day, respectively, and 4 mg of perindopril tablet once a day for 30 successive days. The heart function grade, patients' left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and walking distance in 6 min (6mWD) were measured before and after treatment, and the patients' QOL was scored by the Minnesota Questionnaire for QOL evaluation in the patients with CHF at the same time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The heart function grades of all the three groups after treatment were improved compared with those before treatment, but the improvements in high-dose group and moderate dose group were better than that in the low dose group (P<0.05). LVEFs were increased significantly in all the three groups, but the improvements in the high-dose group (59.42%±7.50%) and moderate dose group (61.98%±6.82%) were better than that in the low dose group (51.45%±6.80%, P<0.01); the 6mWDs in the all groups were also significantly increased (P<0.01), up to 419.80±36.23 m, 387.15±34.13 m, and 317.69±39.97 m, respectively; and Minnesota scores in them were lowered to 29.59±4.69 scores, 35.74±5.89 scores, and 42.78±6.06 scores, respectively; comparisons in aspects on 6mWD and Minnesota score showed that the effectiveness with high dose is the most effective, moderate dose as the second, and low dose as the lowest (P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AG was sufficient to display an optimal effect on improving heart contraction at the moderate dose. In aspects of improving the QOL of CHF patients, the effectiveness of AG showed a dose-dependent trend. It should be applied discriminatively depending on the actual condition of patients and the aim of treatment in clinic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Wuxi Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province 214001, China.
authors.forename: Qing-You
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hui-Ru
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D027883:Astragalus Plant / Q000737:chemistry; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D006334:Heart Function Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D028321:Plant Preparations